CRICKET: Roy can see a turnaround in Surrey's form on the One-Day Cup horizon

Despite a less than convincing return to life in Division One of the County Championship as well as the t20 Blast, Surrey opener Jason Roy has bigger fish to fry.

The Royal London One-Day Cup gets under way on Sunday with Surrey making the short trip to Beckenham to face Kent for an 11am start.

Roy, who reached the final of the T20 World Cup with England earlier this year, insists the side have unfinished business in the 50-over format, and is determined to avenge last year’s final defeat at Lords.

Alec Stewart’s side are bottom of the County Championship standings without a win in seven games so far, and their white ball form has not been much better after a humiliating eight-wicket T20 defeat against bogey-side Glamorgan last time out in front of a packed house at the Oval.

They also face a tough task tonight (Friday) when they go to Sussex, the unbeaten early leaders of the south table.

However, Roy sees no reason Surrey cannot hit their straps again in the One-Day Cup.

“We have a strong group of boys, highly skilled boys, and an exciting dressing room so let’s see how far that can take us," he said.

“As a group we have to come together. Over 50 overs you need the whole squad to play good cricket, not just individuals.

“To return to Lord's, one of the most iconic grounds in the world, to play in a final in front of a huge crowd would be a special feeling.

“Last year is still in the back of our minds. It was a tough pill to swallow.

“We were pretty good last year, we won some great games against some big counties and played some incredible cricket. If we replicate the performances we had last year then we’ll go far."

He added: “In red ball cricket, we have stepped up to Division One and had a couple of tough games, but we’ve got the batters and bowlers and the skill – we just need to get some wins under our belt.”

While Roy is enjoying regular international work in England's T20 and one-day squad, the 25-year-old is yet to make any impact on the Test side.

However, with question marks over part of the batting line-up – particularly Middlesex’s Nick Compton, who is without a 50 in 15 first-class innings – Roy's chance could come sooner rather than later.

He added: “It would be absolutely mind-blowing if I was to put on that England cap, but a lot of hard work is still to be done with my red ball game, and a high volume of runs to be scored.

“I was thinking the other day that it’s actually quite relaxing playing Championship cricket because you don’t have to worry about scoring at eight or 10 runs an over or making sure your boundary percentage is high.

“You can go out there and enjoy your craft, you can go out and be a batsmen and enjoy it. I guess the hardest thing to do is to curb the natural instinct of an opening one-day player, but it comes with experience.”

As proud sponsors of the One Day Cup, Royal London is giving away match tickets to see the action live. Visit royallondoncricket.com to enter

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